He allowed himself to hold her hand for a beat longer than necessary. “No problem, Red. I was nervous as hell myself. Can I offer you a ride home?”
Avoiding his eyes, she slid her hand from his and swiped at a curl falling on her cheek. “No, thanks. I have my car.”
He stood and helped her with her chair, then draped her jacket over her shoulders. “I’ll see you through the parking lot.” He wouldn’t think of letting a woman walk alone to her car after sharing dinner.
Marla stopped just short of the steps leading to the parking lot. “Holy goats. It’s dark. They really should have more lights here.”
“Yeah, they’re leaving themselves wide open for a lawsuit.” He picked up her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. “Hang on to me. I have good night vision. Miss Emmaline used to claim I was part cat.”
Instead of protesting, she gripped his arm and stepped off the apron with him. The warmth of her touch shot straight to his bone marrow. The thought of putting her behind the wheel of her car and making sure she’d locked the door took a toll on his libido.
They reached her car. Their hands bumped as they both grasped the door handle. He tugged.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t unlock it.”
She dug to the bottom of her small purse and clicked the button on the key tag. The car chirped and the lights blinked.
Dwayne opened her door, and she slid behind the steering wheel. He thought of kissing her on the cheek but stopped himself before she shut the door.
He tapped on the window. When she lowered it, he leaned in, “Start ’er up and turn on the lights.”
“Why?”
“I want to make sure you’re okay before I take off.”
She turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. The lights went on automatically. “Okay?”
He grinned and slapped the hood of the car. “You’re good to go, beau…uh, Marla.”
He nodded and headed for his truck before she had a chance to nail him with a glare.
What a babe.
Marla stared as he walked across the lot, the curious hitch in his stride more pronounced tonight than usual. Perhaps he had a hip problem or a bum knee. It didn’t seem to affect his ability to put in a good day’s work on the job. He personally supervised every aspect of the renovation.
He appeared so different tonight, dressed in a nice pair of slacks with an open-neck dress shirt beneath his bomber jacket. Every other time she’d seen him he’d been wearing worn jeans, a faded work shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a tattered baseball cap, and heavy boots.
Marla smiled and shook her head. She had to admit Dwayne Dempsey made one sexy male package. No matter how he was dressed. And she stopped right there. No way would she allow her imagination to wander in the direction of how he’d look undressed. But, did he have hair on his chest? What about tattoos?
Stop it, Marla. What are you doing?
Dwayne hauled himself up into the driver’s seat of his well-used, black pickup truck. He touched his forehead and grinned in her direction before he closed the door. Great goats! Had he read her mind?
He pulled out of the lot and turned right. She backed out and stopped at the exit to the parking lot. As she checked traffic to her left, the lights from the commercial section gave the night sky a soft glow in contrast to the near darkness of the residential area where they both lived.
She tapped her brakes when his truck bounced into the lot of the condos. What was he doing? The place was dark except for a few security lights to discourage after-hour intruders. He stopped in front of the chain link fence, spoke to the guard dog, Hercules, then let himself inside. Marla pulled over and turned off her lights. She glanced at the building and made out the faint glow of lights from Miss Emmaline’s apartment. He must be checking on her.
After a few minutes, Dwayne stepped out the front entrance carrying a sleeping child. The girl stirred and Dwayne’s big hand stroked the kid’s back, and he brushed a kiss on her hair. He spoke to the big malamute again, closed the gate, and snapped the padlock. Holding the child securely, he opened the passenger door and with gentle care lowered the sleepyhead onto the car seat. He fastened the seat belt, and Marla saw the little girl smile. He kissed her and rounded the car to the driver’s side. Her heart clenched at the adoring look the little girl bestowed on her daddy.
Marla waited several minutes after he left before she started her car. She didn’t want him to think she’d been spying. She wasn’t really spying was she? She’d just stopped to see why he had returned to the jobsite after hours. It made sense now. Miss Emmaline had been taking care of his little girl while they were at dinner.
She’d find an excuse to talk to Miss Emmaline. See if she could learn something about him. Why was he a single father? Where was his wife?
Chapter Three
The next morning, Marla had appointments to show a couple of houses that promised to be good prospects for the buyers she’d been working with. The heavenly aroma of fresh-brewed coffee surrounded her when she stepped inside the local Starbucks. She’d allowed enough time to order her café macchiato and find a nice table with room to spread the property photos and the pertinent information about the school districts.
Her clients, Pete and Rosalie Wyland, arrived shortly after she sat. “I have a couple of very nice properties to show you this morning.” Marla indicated the photos.
She explained the pros and cons of both properties, the proximity to schools and the zoning.
“It sounds like there’s a lot to like about both places. Shall we
